Remembrance
by iflip4dolphins
Summary: It had been one week, and she should have been happy.


_Disclaimer: Ha. No.__

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It had been one week since the earth's revival. In that time, Minako had met with all her friends, received an earful from Rei about taking the surgery and dying without telling them properly (even though Minako had tried to explain that she hadn't planned on dying, to which Rei had replied with a rant on how people that didn't know they were dying didn't just leave without warning and leave good-bye letters.), and had discovered her illness was completely gone.

She should have been happy. No longer did she have to worry about fainting or headaches. Her Senshi powers had left her, so she didn't even have to worry about leading two different lives and dealing with the resulting stress. Her only concerns now were balancing her singing with her friends, something she was finally free to do.

And yet…

She'd always had the strongest memories of the past life. For what reason she wasn't sure, though Artemis believed it had something to do with the fact that she was the leader of the senshi. She thought it was more than that, personally. For years before Artemis had fallen out of the sky and landed on her face, she had remembered, more like bits and pieces, and more feelings than anything, but still, she had remembered. Artemis's arrival and his very presence seemed to spur on the memories, until she was certain that she remembered much of her past life. There were gaps, of course, and some were quite monumental ones, but that was to be expected. Time did that to memory, and she had thousands of years and a rebirth blocking hers.

That was probably why those particular memories had taken the longest to return. Minako had always had a vague feeling whenever she heard piano music, but it wasn't until after she'd received the music box that the memories had begun to unveil themselves completely.

Then he had died.

And the lovely piano music that she'd heard frequently since becoming Sailor V, that soothing, hauntingly beautiful music, had faded, gone forever.

"Minako? Are you okay?"

Artemis's voice startled Minako, and she looked down at the white cat who was hitching a ride in her purse. The cat peered up at her with worried eyes, begging her to say she was fine. She nodded. "I'm fine."

Artemis frowned, insofar as it was possible. "Are you sure?"

Minako sighed. "Yes."

"It's just that this isn't the way to the Crown and you'd stopped walking, so…"

Minako blinked in confusion and looked at her surroundings. Earlier that day Usagi had called her, informing her that they were all going to meet at the Crown later that day and that she absolutely had to be there. Minako had agreed, and, for a change of pace, had decided to walk instead of taking a cab. Unfortunately, while walking her mind had wandered and she now found herself standing in front of a chapel that she didn't recognize.

"Oh," was the only thing she could think of to say. Artemis tapped her on the arm uneasily.

"It looks like it's going to rain, Minako," he said, indicating the overcast sky when she glanced down at him. "Can we go to Crown now?"

Minako didn't answer, instead pushing open the door to the chapel, not entirely sure what made her do it. Her heart leapt into her mouth and she stopped breathing when she saw the piano in the chapel, a magnificent instrument positioned so that the colored light from the stained glass windows dappled over it.

"Minako?"

With difficulty, she unstuck her throat, which suddenly felt remarkably dry. "You go ahead to Crown, Artemis." She could tell the cat was about to protest so she added, "I'll be fine. Really."

It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than her companion. After a long silence, Artemis finally sighed. "Okay." He leapt out of her purse and onto the ground in front of her. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked again.

Minako could only nod, unable to move her eyes from the piano. She heard Artemis pad away on his stuffed plush legs and felt a twinge of pity for him, having to walk to Crown alone, especially with the weather being so chancy. Despite the fact that she wanted to go to Crown and forget that she'd ever come here in the first place, something kept her here, a mysterious force that she could not name.

She stepped inside the chapel, eyes trained on the piano, and made her way over to the instrument. Her footsteps echoed in the still air, and she was aware of just how empty the place was. When she reached the piano she stopped and simply stared at it for a few moments, watching the light play over the polished black wood and ivory keys. Tentatively she reached out a hand and laid it softly on the wood.

A flood of memories overwhelmed her when she touched it, and she had to grip it with both hands to keep from falling down. A competition that ended with anger, an alliance that would later be repeated in the next life, a strange conversation about spells… The memories chased each other around in her mind until Minako was sure that she wouldn't be able to handle any more –

And the door swung open and she heard another person enter the chapel. The sound allowed Minako to push back the memories and she let go of the piano, though she kept one hand resting on the wood. The sound of footsteps carried in the empty chapel as the owner came towards her.

"Minako-chan?"

Minako sighed inwardly at the sound of Usagi's voice. "Usagi," she said tonelessly without looking at her usually cheerful friend. "Why are you here?"

She could hear Usagi shifting on her feet. Finally Usagi said, "Well, when you didn't come with Artemis we got worried, so Artemis told us where you were." She stopped, as though she were trying to decide what to say next, then plowed onwards. "Actually, Rei-chan wanted to come, but Artemis said she wouldn't understand, so I came instead."

"You shouldn't have come," Minako said. She stroked the piano with her hand, staring at the dark, polished wood with unseeing eyes. "It's not as if you can do anything."

Usagi shuffled again, then said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, "I know." Before Minako could say anything, if she had been so inclined to do so, Usagi spoke. "Are you missing someone?"

The corners of Minako's mouth twitched upwards for a fraction of a second. "You could say that."

The atmosphere changed perceptibly at this statement, and Minako had the feeling that Usagi had guessed as much but had wanted her suspicions confirmed before she began interrogating her friend. Her suspicions were proven correct as Usagi's entire demeanor changed and she asked excitedly, "Really? Who?"

Minako let out a short laugh, completely devoid of humor. "Who do we know that plays the piano?" she asked instead of answering, trusting Usagi to be able to figure it out, and not trusting herself to being able to say his name aloud without completely losing it.

Usagi gasped. "Zoisite?"

Minako's hand tightened on the wood of the piano next to the keys, her knuckles turning white from the force she was exerting on the instrument. "Usagi… please…" she begged almost inaudibly, though she wasn't entirely sure what she begged for.

"Sorry," Usagi whispered. Minako didn't look at her. Tears that had been hiding in the back of her eyes came to the front and she shut her eyes tightly. Years of hiding her illness and her physical and emotional pain were not easy to discard, and her pride would not allow her to show her emotional pain. She would not cry.

"We'll probably be at Crown for most of the day," Usagi said at last, obviously searching for a safe topic. "You should come by when… you should come by later."

Minako didn't, couldn't reply. She was aware of Usagi leaving the chapel and the sound of the chapel door closing behind her, but only vaguely. She could barely feel the wood of the piano beneath her clenched fingers, and her free hand closed into a fist at her side in an unconscious effort to hold back her emotion. "Zoisite," she whispered.

With her eyes closed, she could almost hear soft piano music, almost feel a pair of warm arms encircle her, could almost feel a soft kiss on her head. Warm breath brushed her cheek. "I'll be back, Minako," she heard in her ear. "I promise."

It was too much. Her eyes flew open and she whirled around, her hand losing its grip on the piano. Nobody was there. The ghostly piano music faded, and she felt wetness on her cheeks. Angrily she lifted an arm and drew it swiftly across her face, defying the tears that had slipped past her eyelids, and though her vision swam, she refused to let her unshed tears fall.

She left the piano and headed towards the chapel door. At the door she paused and turned back to look at the piano, one hand on the doorknob. After a long moment, she reluctantly turned away, opened the door, and set off for Crown. The rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally came, and if some of the raindrops on her face were salty, Minako refused to acknowledge it.

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_A/N: This is my first time writing PGSM fanfiction, so I hope I've got the characterization right. Also, there are references to the fic Guardians of the Earth and the Moon, used with full permission._


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